• Three airlines, twelve “customer service” representatives and multiple people yelling at each other in Mandarin later we found ourselves on an Air China flight back to Tokyo. We’re still not sure why or what they were screaming but it seemed to be the norm for the airport. That said, it was a lovely airport.During this ordeal we couldn’t help but notice two groups of travelers flashing American passports being flanked by their own teams of cameramen looking a little too giddy to be at the airport in Beijing at 8am. Oddly enough, it seems that we found ourselves in the middle of CBS’ “Amazing Race” with two teams on our flight. Without giving too much away, I can assure you that all of the panic and suspense of the actual show comes from some really great editing. On this particular day we found ourselves watching the double mint twins in matching sweatshirts, bleached teeth and badly dyed red hair preen the entire time for the cameras.M had to remind me a few times that something are better thought than said aloud and that when calling people “twits” and such it’s best to do it at a volume they can’t hear you.Forthunately the flight itself wasn’t bad as a nap and bag of M&Ms calmed me down considerable after being cut in front of by the camera crew multiple times had me rather annoyed.Still we had quite a ways to go and even bumped into the host Phil Keoghan as he waited for his flight to film the finale in Hawaii. It’s important to note that the running, fighting and begging for seats that you see on TV didn’t really happen and oh yeah, Phil flies business class.

As you all know, RFF first brought you the info about C/J on the flight from Beijing on towards Hawaii.

Here is the rest of the story.

While we have had this information since well before the show aired, I personally felt that it wouldn't be fair to the first teams that would be eliminated or to all the fans enjoying speculating on their favorites to release this info too soon. But after tonight we will have our final five, so I think it is finally okay to share this with you all.

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I have been fortunate enough to be in contact with someone who came across the race in Beijing, on the way to Tokyo. Thanks to an enormous amount of time and help from her, I am able to bring you a good bit of info. This would be the connecting flight Beijing>Tokyo>Hawaii.

This description has been edited by me in order to combine a series of email exchanges and in order to simplify the info, so any mistakes in the editing are mine. My inserts/edits have been italicized,the rest is in her words. Most of this comes in response to questions I posed.

We were flying on an Air China/ANA code share from Beijing to Tokyo on the 21st of November, flight later ID’d as CA925/NH5702 0930-1350.

All persons seen by her were confirmed by her matching photos.

At the terminal we discovered we had ended up on the same flight as the cheerleaders (Cara/Jaime) and the Mom/son (Margie/Luke). To the annoyance of the airline ground staff the film crew kept trying to jump ahead in line and was filming other passengers boarding the plane. I pray my exhausted scowl does not make national television. It would not be an attractive moment to have aired.

Once we got on the plane, one sound man in particular seemed keen on climbing over seats to make sure he was involved.

Aside from the camera crew cutting in various lines and being a touch rude, I don't honestly remember much else aside from the fact that the cheerleaders were glad another team was fighting and said as much to the Mom/son team. I will say I was surprised at how open the crew was about needing to get certain shots like "the waiting for the plane door to close shot."

Those two teams split in a different direction once we left the plane in Tokyo as we went for our (personal info removed) flight and they went to Hawaii (overheard them saying) and they went onward.

We then came across Phil at the JAL transfer desk in Tokyo. He was actually traveling with Tammy/Victor and BVM. insert: They were ahead of us in line.

I do recall Victor was very nice to the crew and was trying to get the crew members window seats to sleep by to their next destination...Honolulu. They did film them at the counter if I recall.

I'm not sure if they were staying there or not as none of them mentioned anything beyond that.

this group which included Phil, BVM (see below), and Tammy/Victor had NOT been seen by her on her flight.

Phil didn't really interact with anyone besides an older man who I would assume was a producer of some sort. Photo confirmation that this was Bertram Van Munster—insert: And it definitely was Bertram Van Munster that was with them, he and Phil didn't really interact with anyone but each other.

The crew and such traveling with Phil/BVM/Tammy/Victor were considerably nicer than the ones on her flight and were discussing how they had been celebrating someone's birthday a few days prior and someone had accidentally ruined the surprise cake by letting the secret slip.

Once past the transfer desk we had to go downstairs to the Bus station to transfer to another Terminal where we again came across Phil and Tammy/Victor. We rode the bus with them to the other terminal and then lost them in the chaos that is Narita airport. … I asked if she was able to get a feel for who might be in the lead at that point, or if these could be decoys:

To be honest, none of the groups really seemed to be too excited or racing, so it would be hard to say as neither group we saw really seemed all that "race like."

Images of the fence have made their way onto the walls of art galleries, onto glossy pages of surfing magazines and calendars, and have been used as a backdrop for various television shows. Look for it in an upcoming edition of "Ripley's Believe It or Not!" book and a cameo appearance in the May 3 episode of CBS' "The Amazing Race."

Next On The Amazing RaceSEASON FINALEWhen Karma attacks - One team's rage against taxi drivers around the world comes back to haunt them. Two teams put their friendship first when they set aside the race and help each other finish a task. One racer's constant nagging while searching for a clue causes their partner to lose their cool and in an unprecedented finale, the final three teams find themselves racing neck-and-neck in their last task on the road to the million dollar prize.

AFTER 3 CONTINENTS, 9 COUNTRIES AND 40,000 MILES, THE FINAL THREE TEAMS WILL SQUARE OFF IN ONE FINAL LEG DURING THE SEASON FINALE OF "THE AMAZING RACE 14," MAY 10, ON CBS "This is How You Lose a Million Dollars" (Maui) - Following a Race that spanned three continents, nine countries and 40,000 miles, Tammy and Victor, Cara and Jaime and Luke and Margie will square off in a grueling final leg that will test their endurance, their memory and one Racer's karma, during the season finale of THE AMAZING RACE 14, Sunday, May 10 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Phil Keoghan is host.

It will be a dramatic editing moment right before a commercial. And then the team that says it will go on to win. At least that's what I think.

Hopefully the quote isn't very early in the episode!

THIS IS SPECULATION

Yeah, whichever team says it will probably win it all. I remember two teams saying the title quotes and they won -- Chip said the title quote of Season 5's finale, while Tyler or James said the one in Season 10's finale. So if Cara or Jamie says it, we'll have our first all-female team win. If Tammy or Victor says it, they'll win. And I'm hoping neither Margie nor Luke says it, because that means they'll win.

It will be a dramatic editing moment right before a commercial. And then the team that says it will go on to win. At least that's what I think.

Hopefully the quote isn't very early in the episode!

THIS IS SPECULATION

Yeah, whichever team says it will probably win it all. I remember two teams saying the title quotes and they won -- Chip said the title quote of Season 5's finale, while Tyler or James said the one in Season 10's finale. So if Cara or Jamie says it, we'll have our first all-female team win. If Tammy or Victor says it, they'll win. And I'm hoping neither Margie nor Luke says it, because that means they'll win.

Belle Book

First of all, didn't someone say TAR13's finale title?

Second of all, and what would be so bad about Margie & Luke winning it?

That said, that sounds more like a Tammy & Victor or a Jaime & Cara line.

Logged

JamisonEleven teams race around the world for $1,000,000 on The Amazing Race 14! Sundays at 8/7 Central on CBS!

It will be a dramatic editing moment right before a commercial. And then the team that says it will go on to win. At least that's what I think.

Hopefully the quote isn't very early in the episode!

THIS IS SPECULATION

Yeah, whichever team says it will probably win it all. I remember two teams saying the title quotes and they won -- Chip said the title quote of Season 5's finale, while Tyler or James said the one in Season 10's finale. So if Cara or Jamie says it, we'll have our first all-female team win. If Tammy or Victor says it, they'll win. And I'm hoping neither Margie nor Luke says it, because that means they'll win.

Belle Book

First of all, didn't someone say TAR13's finale title?

Second of all, and what would be so bad about Margie & Luke winning it?

That said, that sounds more like a Tammy & Victor or a Jaime & Cara line.

Well, maybe it's not so bad as say, the Weaver Family winning in the Family Edition (which didn't happen), but it wouldn't be great either because Margie & Luke seem to have gotten the villainous edit, which isn't such a great thing if you're a team trying to win the Race.

I forgot who said Season 13's title. I mentioned the ones from Season 5 and Season 10 because they were the ones I remembered. And yeah, it doesn't really sound like a Margie & Luke quote to me. It sounds most like a Cara & Jamie one, but it could be a Tammy & Victor one as well.

It will be a dramatic editing moment right before a commercial. And then the team that says it will go on to win. At least that's what I think.

Hopefully the quote isn't very early in the episode!

THIS IS SPECULATION

Yeah, whichever team says it will probably win it all. I remember two teams saying the title quotes and they won -- Chip said the title quote of Season 5's finale, while Tyler or James said the one in Season 10's finale. So if Cara or Jamie says it, we'll have our first all-female team win. If Tammy or Victor says it, they'll win. And I'm hoping neither Margie nor Luke says it, because that means they'll win.

Belle Book

First of all, didn't someone say TAR13's finale title?

Second of all, and what would be so bad about Margie & Luke winning it?

That said, that sounds more like a Tammy & Victor or a Jaime & Cara line.

Well, maybe it's not so bad as say, the Weaver Family winning in the Family Edition (which didn't happen), but it wouldn't be great either because Margie & Luke seem to have gotten the villainous edit, which isn't such a great thing if you're a team trying to win the Race.

I forgot who said Season 13's title. I mentioned the ones from Season 5 and Season 10 because they were the ones I remembered. And yeah, it doesn't really sound like a Margie & Luke quote to me. It sounds most like a Cara & Jamie one, but it could be a Tammy & Victor one as well.

It will be a dramatic editing moment right before a commercial. And then the team that says it will go on to win. At least that's what I think.

Hopefully the quote isn't very early in the episode!

THIS IS SPECULATION

Yeah, whichever team says it will probably win it all. I remember two teams saying the title quotes and they won -- Chip said the title quote of Season 5's finale, while Tyler or James said the one in Season 10's finale. So if Cara or Jamie says it, we'll have our first all-female team win. If Tammy or Victor says it, they'll win. And I'm hoping neither Margie nor Luke says it, because that means they'll win.

Belle Book

First of all, didn't someone say TAR13's finale title?

Second of all, and what would be so bad about Margie & Luke winning it?

That said, that sounds more like a Tammy & Victor or a Jaime & Cara line.

Well, maybe it's not so bad as say, the Weaver Family winning in the Family Edition (which didn't happen), but it wouldn't be great either because Margie & Luke seem to have gotten the villainous edit, which isn't such a great thing if you're a team trying to win the Race.

I forgot who said Season 13's title. I mentioned the ones from Season 5 and Season 10 because they were the ones I remembered. And yeah, it doesn't really sound like a Margie & Luke quote to me. It sounds most like a Cara & Jamie one, but it could be a Tammy & Victor one as well.

I can imagine Jaime exploding to the Hawaiian taxi driver... screaming at him/her because of losing a million dollars...

If there's a water task again, I think/SPECULATE Tammy says this line...

Yeah, I could see Tammy or Victor saying it if one of them messes up at a task really badly. Jaime could say it if a cab driver once again proves to be incompetent and starts to potentially mess things up for them (because I just don't see Cara ever losing it with a driver).

Either way, whoever says it, his or her team will probably win, since the past four seasons, minus All-Stars, have had a member of the winning team say the title of the season finale.

Logged

JamisonEleven teams race around the world for $1,000,000 on The Amazing Race 14! Sundays at 8/7 Central on CBS!

Congrats guys on spoiling this season so well. Looks like we have some finale to look forward to. Cara/Jaime FTW though.

Also, could there be some final task at the golf course? Maybe that's where the title is said. It'd be cool if they had a golf challenge, like, for Hole 1, shoot a golf ball with a pattern of the flag of Switzerland? Hole 2, a Germany golf-ball, etc. Just my two cents.

joh18

Congrats guys on spoiling this season so well. Looks like we have some finale to look forward to. Cara/Jaime FTW though.

Also, could there be some final task at the golf course? Maybe that's where the title is said. It'd be cool if they had a golf challenge, like, for Hole 1, shoot a golf ball with a pattern of the flag of Switzerland? Hole 2, a Germany golf-ball, etc. Just my two cents.

I also think there is a final task at the golf course. Will we see another backtracking challenge (TAR 13)? Observation (TAR 12)? Team Foundation (TAR 11) ? aND oh, the pitstop greeters are strange to me.

Yup. Plus, for the past 10 seasons, the title often came from Phil (6, 7, 8, 9) or the winning team (5, 10, 12, 13), All-Stars being the sole exception.

Offtopic: The times my favorite won were: "Race To The Finish" & "They’re Slithering To The Finish Line Like The Rest Of Us!". The times my LEAST favorite won were: "Follow That Plane!", "It's Like Adam Building His First House!", "4 Continents, 24 Cities, 40,000 Miles", "25 Days, 50 Cities, And More Than 600 Consecutive Hours Together as a Family", "5 Continents, 9 Countries, More Than 59,000 Miles", "Say Your Deepest Prayers Ever!", "Low to the Ground, That's My Technique", "The Final Push", "You Look Like Peter Pan".I suck at picking favorites.

Congrats guys on spoiling this season so well. Looks like we have some finale to look forward to. Cara/Jaime FTW though.

Also, could there be some final task at the golf course? Maybe that's where the title is said. It'd be cool if they had a golf challenge, like, for Hole 1, shoot a golf ball with a pattern of the flag of Switzerland? Hole 2, a Germany golf-ball, etc. Just my two cents.

Raymond, that is an original idea and quite a good one. What better than using information about the AR14 route to test what knowledge racerspicked up along the way? I hope they did exactly what you propose.

That would be a first. I've never actually known what they do when a team incurs a penalty at the final leg.

Can you imagine? Let's say someone gets to the Finish Line kind of like how Wil & Tara and Chris & Alex did in TAR 2 and Chris & Alex used their personal effects to pay off the taxi cab driver, race to pass W/T, nip them by seconds, then Phil says, "Chris & Alex, you are the first team to arrive."

C/A: WHOO!!!!!! YES!!!!! ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

Phil: However...

C/A: Zoiks!

Phil: You used your personal items to pay a taxi cab fare and as you know, that's against the rules of The Amazing Race. You have incurred a two hour penalty. Please step to the side.... Wil & Tara? After 39,000 miles.......

That would be devastating after all that racing to lose that way, but it would make for great television.

That would be a first. I've never actually known what they do when a team incurs a penalty at the final leg.

Can you imagine? Let's say someone gets to the Finish Line kind of like how Wil & Tara and Chris & Alex did in TAR 2 and Chris & Alex used their personal effects to pay off the taxi cab driver, race to pass W/T, nip them by seconds, then Phil says, "Chris & Alex, you are the first team to arrive."

C/A: WHOO!!!!!! YES!!!!! ONE MILLION DOLLARS!!!!

Phil: However...

C/A: Zoiks!

Phil: You used your personal items to pay a taxi cab fare and as you know, that's against the rules of The Amazing Race. You have incurred a two hour penalty. Please step to the side.... Wil & Tara? After 39,000 miles.......

That would be devastating after all that racing to lose that way, but it would make for great television.

Phil: I need you to step off the finish line and wait until your penalty's over

Logged

The story so far:In the beginning the Universe was created.This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move

Totally sounds like a Jaime/Cara quote to me. If Tammy/Victor, Jaime/Cara and Margie/Luke are indeed our final three, here's what I predict.

1. Jaime and Cara2. Tammy and Victor3. Margie and Luke

All for the first all-female win!

Ruth, you've got a slightly less than 1/3 chance of that happening. I say that because I rate Tammy/victor and Margie/Luke as stronger teams than Jaime/Cara (just look at their finish rankings for proof).

Totally sounds like a Jaime/Cara quote to me. If Tammy/Victor, Jaime/Cara and Margie/Luke are indeed our final three, here's what I predict.

1. Jaime and Cara2. Tammy and Victor3. Margie and Luke

All for the first all-female win!

Ruth, you've got a slightly less than 1/3 chance of that happening. I say that because I rate Tammy/victor and Margie/Luke as stronger teams than Jaime/Cara (just look at their finish rankings for proof).

If you just base the expected final on previous finishes including the TBC, then the approximation of winning per team is: J/C 28%, M/L 35%, T/V 36%

However, if you look at only the last few legs, then the results are far more equal. J/C have been placing better in each of the last few legs and "won" the TBC. J/C have apparently been improving, even with the language issues. Whereas T/V didn't "win" the TBC or the previous 2 legs even with the language and tourist advantages. However, it does look like T/V may smoke the Beijing leg.

With the equalizing that should occur with airport bunching, I think it is possible for any team to win.

T/V have been running good thru most of the game.

M/L have played hard and been very consistent. If they can get past the K/J problem (which should go away since it is apparent that K/J are gone) and get down to business, they have an excellent chance.

J/C have been improving and in the Hawaii leg there should not be any language issues so hopefully Jaime can concentrate on the game. And if Jaime is not being the ugly American, maybe Cara can concentrate and take her game up a notch.

I know various people in this group do not like different team members. However, everyone of the remaining players has worked hard and deserves a win.

Totally sounds like a Jaime/Cara quote to me. If Tammy/Victor, Jaime/Cara and Margie/Luke are indeed our final three, here's what I predict.

1. Jaime and Cara2. Tammy and Victor3. Margie and Luke

All for the first all-female win!

Ruth, you've got a slightly less than 1/3 chance of that happening. I say that because I rate Tammy/victor and Margie/Luke as stronger teams than Jaime/Cara (just look at their finish rankings for proof).